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Smithsonian Institution

The Smithsonian Institution Building in Washington, D.C., also known as "the Castle"
Established	August 10, 1846; 178 years ago (1846-08-10)
Location	Washington, D.C.; Chantilly, Virginia; New York City; Suitland, Maryland
Chancellor	John Roberts
Director	Lonnie Bunch, Secretary of the Smithsonian
Employees	6,375 (as of March 28, 2020)
Website	www.si.edu

The Smithsonian Institution (/smɪθˈsoʊniən/ smith-SOH-nee-ən), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums, education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge." Founded on August 10, 1846, it operates as a trust instrumentality and is not formally a part of any of the three branches of the federal government. The institution is named after its founding donor, British scientist James Smithson. It was originally organized as the United States National Museum, but that name ceased to exist administratively in 1967.

The Smithsonian Institution has historical holdings of over 157 million items, 21 museums, 21 libraries, 14 education and research centers, a zoo, and historical and architectural landmarks, mostly located in Washington, D.C. Additional facilities are located in Maryland, New York, and Virginia. More than 200 institutions and museums in 47 states, Puerto Rico, and Panama are Smithsonian Affiliates. Institution publications include Smithsonian and Air & Space magazines.

Almost all of the institution's 30 million annual visitors are admitted without charge, the exception being Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum in New York City, which charges an admissions fee. The Smithsonian's annual budget is around $1.25 billion, with two-thirds coming from annual federal appropriations. Other funding comes from the institution's endowment, private and corporate contributions, membership dues, and earned retail, concession, and licensing revenue. As of 2021, the institution's endowment had a total value of about $5.4 billion.

Founding

In many ways, the origin of the Smithsonian Institution can be traced to a group of Washington citizens who, being "impressed with the importance of forming an association for promoting useful knowledge," met on June 28, 1816, to establish the Columbian Institute for the Promotion of Arts and Sciences. Officers were elected in October 1816, and the organization was granted a charter by Congress on April 20, 1818 (this charter expired in 1838). Benjamin Latrobe, who was architect for the US Capitol after the War of 1812, and William Thornton, the architect who designed the Octagon House and Tudor Place, would serve as officers. Other prominent members, who numbered from 30 to 70 during the institute's existence, included John Quincy Adams, Andrew Jackson, Henry Clay, Judge William Cranch, and James Hoban. Honorary members included James Madison, James Monroe, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and the Marquis de Lafayette. Operating expenses were covered from the $5 yearly dues collected from each member.

The institute proposed a number of undertakings. These included the study of plant life and the creation of a botanical garden on the Capitol Mall, an examination of the country's mineral production, improvement in the management and care of livestock, and the writing of a topographical and statistical history of the United States. Reports were to be published periodically to share this knowledge with the greater public, but due to a lack of funds, this initially did not occur. The institute first met in Blodget's Hotel, later in the Treasury Department and City Hall, before being assigned a permanent home in 1824 in the Capitol building.

Beginning in 1825, weekly sittings were arranged during sessions of Congress for the reading of scientific and literary productions, but this was continued for only a short time, as the number attending declined rapidly. Eighty-five communications by 26 people were made to Congress during the entire life of the society, with more than a half relating to astronomy or mathematics. Among all the activities planned by the institute, only a few were actually implemented. Two were the establishment of a botanical garden, and a museum that was designed to have a national and permanent status. The former occupied space where the present Botanic Garden sits.

The museum contained specimens of zoology, botany, archeology, fossils, etc., some of which were passed on to the Smithsonian Institution after its formation. The institute's charter expired in 1838, but its spirit lived on in the National Institution, founded in 1840. With the mission to "promote science and the useful arts, and to establish a national museum of natural history," this organization continued to press Congress to establish a museum that would be structured in terms that were very similar to those finally incorporated into the founding of the Smithsonian Institution. Its work helped to develop an underlying philosophy that pushed for the pursuit and development of scientific knowledge that would benefit the nation, and edify its citizens at the same time.

The British scientist James Smithson (1765–1829) left most of his wealth to his nephew Henry James Hungerford. When Hungerford died childless in 1835, the estate passed "to the United States of America, to found at Washington, under the name of the Smithsonian Institution, an Establishment for the increase & diffusion of knowledge among men", in accordance with Smithson's will. Congress officially accepted the legacy bequeathed to the nation and pledged the faith of the United States to the charitable trust on July 1, 1836. The American diplomat Richard Rush was dispatched to England by President Andrew Jackson to collect the bequest. Rush returned in August 1838 with 105 sacks containing 104,960 gold sovereigns. This is approximately $500,000 at the time, which is equivalent to $14,000,000 in 2023 or equivalent to £12,000,000 in 2023. However, when considering the GDP at the time it may be more comparable to $220 million in the year 2007.

Once the money was in hand, eight years of congressional haggling ensued over how to interpret Smithson's rather vague mandate "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge." The money was invested by the US Treasury in bonds issued by the state of Arkansas, which soon defaulted. After heated debate, Massachusetts representative (and former president) John Quincy Adams persuaded Congress to restore the lost funds with interest and, despite designs on the money for other purposes, convinced his colleagues to preserve it for an institution of science and learning. Finally, on August 10, 1846, President James K. Polk signed the legislation that established the Smithsonian Institution as a trust instrumentality of the United States, to be administered by a Board of Regents and a secretary of the Smithsonian.

Development

Though the Smithsonian's first secretary, Joseph Henry, wanted the institution to be a center for scientific research, it also became the depository for various Washington and U.S. government collections. The United States Exploring Expedition by the U.S. Navy circumnavigated the globe between 1838 and 1842. The voyage amassed thousands of animal specimens, an herbarium of 50,000 plant specimens, and diverse shells and minerals, tropical birds, jars of seawater, and ethnographic artifacts from the South Pacific Ocean. These specimens and artifacts became part of the Smithsonian collections, as did those collected by several military and civilian surveys of the American West, including the Mexican Boundary Survey and Pacific Railroad Surveys, which assembled many Native American artifacts and natural history specimens.

In 1846, the regents developed a plan for weather observation; in 1847, money was appropriated for meteorological research. The institution became a magnet for young scientists from 1857 to 1866, who formed a group called the Megatherium Club. The Smithsonian played a critical role as the US partner institution in early bilateral scientific exchanges with the Academy of Sciences of Cuba.

Museums and buildings

The Smithsonian Institution area around the National Mall.

Construction began on the Smithsonian Institution Building ("the Castle") in 1849. Designed by architect James Renwick Jr., its interiors were completed by general contractor Gilbert Cameron. The building opened in 1855.

The Smithsonian's first expansion came with the construction of the Arts and Industries Building in 1881. Congress had promised to build a new structure for the museum if the 1876 Philadelphia Centennial Exposition generated enough income. It did, and the building was designed by architects Adolf Cluss and Paul Schulze, based on original plans developed by Major General Montgomery C. Meigs of the United States Army Corps of Engineers. It opened in 1881.

The National Zoological Park opened in 1889 to accommodate the Smithsonian's Department of Living Animals. The park was designed by landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted.

The National Museum of Natural History opened in June 1911 to similarly accommodate the Smithsonian's United States National Museum, which had previously been housed in the Castle and then the Arts and Industries Building. This structure was designed by the D.C. architectural firm of Hornblower & Marshall.

When Detroit philanthropist Charles Lang Freer donated his private collection to the Smithsonian and funds to build the museum to hold it (which was named the Freer Gallery), it was among the Smithsonian's first major donations from a private individual. The gallery opened in 1923.

More than 40 years would pass before the next museum, the Museum of History and Technology (renamed the National Museum of American History in 1980), opened in 1964. It was designed by the world-renowned firm of McKim, Mead & White. The Anacostia Community Museum, an "experimental store-front" museum created at the initiative of Smithsonian Secretary S. Dillon Ripley, opened in the Anacostia neighborhood of Washington, D.C., in 1967. That same year, the Smithsonian signed an agreement to take over the Cooper Union Museum for the Arts of Decoration (now the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum). The National Portrait Gallery and the Smithsonian American Art Museum opened in the Old Patent Office Building (built in 1867) on October 7, 1968. The reuse of an older building continued with the opening of the Renwick Gallery in 1972 in the 1874 Renwick-designed art gallery originally built by local philanthropist William Wilson Corcoran to house the Corcoran Gallery of Art.

The first new museum building to open since the National Museum of History and Technology was the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, which opened in 1974. The National Air and Space Museum, the Smithsonian's largest in terms of floor space, opened in June 1976.

Eleven years later, the National Museum of African Art and the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery opened in a new, joint, underground museum between the Freer Gallery and the Smithsonian Castle. Reuse of another old building came in 1993 with the opening of the National Postal Museum in the 1904 former City Post Office building, a few city blocks from the Mall.

In 2004, the Smithsonian opened the National Museum of the American Indian in a new building near the United States Capitol. Twelve years later almost to the day, in 2016, the latest museum opened: the National Museum of African American History and Culture, in a new building near the Washington Monument.

Two more museums have been established and are being planned for eventual construction on the mall: the National Museum of the American Latino and the Smithsonian American Women's History Museum.

Capital campaigns

In 2011, the Smithsonian undertook its first-ever capital fundraising campaign. The $1.5 billion effort raised $1 billion at the three-year mark. Smithsonian officials made the campaign public in October 2014 in an effort to raise the remaining $500 million. More than 60,000 individuals and organizations donated money to the campaign by the time it went public. This included 192 gifts of at least $1 million. Members of the boards of directors of various Smithsonian museums donated $372 million. The Smithsonian said that funds raised would go toward completion of the National Museum of African American History and Culture building, and renovations of the National Air and Space Museum, National Museum of American History, and the Renwick Gallery. A smaller amount of funds would go to educational initiatives and digitization of collections. As of September 2017, the Smithsonian claimed to have raised $1.79 billion, with three months left in the formal campaign calendar.

Separately from the major capital campaign, the Smithsonian has begun fundraising through Kickstarter. An example is a campaign to fund the preservation and maintenance of the ruby slippers worn by Judy Garland for her role as Dorothy Gale in the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz.

Museums

Main article: List of Smithsonian museums

Nineteen museums and galleries, as well as the National Zoological Park, comprise the Smithsonian museums. Eleven are on the National Mall, the park that runs between the Lincoln Memorial and the United States Capitol. Other museums are located elsewhere in Washington, D.C., with two more in New York City and one in Chantilly, Virginia.

Institution	Type of collection	Location	Opened
Anacostia Community Museum	African American culture	Washington, D.C. Anacostia	1967
Arthur M. Sackler Gallery (affiliated with the Freer Gallery)	Asian art	Washington, D.C. National Mall	1987
Arts and Industries Building	Special event venue	Washington, D.C. National Mall	1881
Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum	Design history	New York City Museum Mile	1897
Freer Gallery of Art (affiliated with the Sackler Gallery)	Asian art	Washington, D.C. National Mall	1923
Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden	Contemporary and modern art	Washington, D.C. National Mall	1974
National Air and Space Museum	Aviation and spaceflight history	Washington, D.C. National Mall	1946, 1976
National Air and Space Museum's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center	Aviation and spaceflight history	Chantilly, Virginia	2003
National Museum of African American History and Culture	African-American history and culture	Washington, D.C. National Mall	2003, 2016
National Museum of African Art	African art	Washington, D.C. National Mall	1964, 1987
National Museum of American History	American history	Washington, D.C. National Mall	1964
National Museum of the American Indian	Native American history and art	Washington, D.C. National Mall	2004
National Museum of the American Indian's George Gustav Heye Center	Native American history and art	New York City Bowling Green	1994
National Museum of Natural History	Natural history	Washington, D.C. National Mall	1858, 1911
National Portrait Gallery	Portraiture	Washington, D.C. Penn Quarter	1968
National Postal Museum	United States Postal Service; postal history; philately	Washington, D.C. NoMa	1993
Renwick Gallery	American craft and decorative arts	Washington, D.C. Lafayette Square	1972
Smithsonian American Art Museum	American art	Washington, D.C. Penn Quarter	1968
Smithsonian Institution Building (The Castle)	Visitor center and offices	Washington, D.C. National Mall	1855
National Zoological Park (National Zoo)	Zoo	Washington, D.C. Rock Creek Park	1889
Smithsonian American Women's History Museum	women's history	Washington, D.C.	2024
National Museum of the American Latino	Hispanic and Latino Americans	Washington, D.C.	2020

The Smithsonian has close ties with 168 other museums in 39 states, Panama, and Puerto Rico. These museums are known as Smithsonian Affiliated museums. Collections of artifacts are given to these museums in the form of long-term loans. The Smithsonian also has a large number of traveling exhibitions, operated through the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service (SITES). In 2008, 58 of these traveling exhibitions went to 510 venues across the country.

Collections

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Smithsonian collections include 156 million artworks, artifacts, and specimens. The National Museum of Natural History houses 145 million of these specimens and artifacts, which are mostly animals preserved in formaldehyde. The Collections Search Center has 9.9 million digital records available online. The Smithsonian Institution Libraries hold 2 million library volumes. Smithsonian Archives hold 156,830 cubic feet (4,441 m) of archival material.

The Smithsonian Institution has many categories of displays that can be visited at the museums. In 1912, First Lady Helen Herron Taft donated her inauguration gown to the museum to begin the First Ladies' Gown display at the National Museum of American History, one of the Smithsonian's most popular exhibits. The museum displays treasures such as the Star-Spangled Banner, the stove pipe hat that was worn by President Abraham Lincoln, the ruby slippers worn by Judy Garland in The Wizard Of Oz, and the original Teddy Bear that was named after President Theodore Roosevelt. In 2016, the Smithsonian's Air & Space museum curators restored the large model Enterprise from the original Star Trek TV series.

Following international debates about the decolonisation of museums and the legal and moral justifications of their acquisitions, the Smithsonian adopted a new "ethical returns policy" on April 29, 2022. This will permit the deaccession and restitution of items collected under circumstances considered unethical by contemporary standards and thus places moral over legal arguments. A month before, the Smithsonian's National Museum of African Art had announced the planned return of most of its 39 Benin Bronzes to Nigeria, as well as of other cultural items to Turkey.

On October 11, 2022, Benin Bronzes from the National Museum of African Art, as well as the National Gallery of Art, were formally returned to Nigerian cultural officials in a ceremony held in Washington D.C. The Nigerian Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, and Prince Aghatise Erediauwa, representing the Oba of Benin Kingdom, spoke at the ceremony. Mohammed said the "decision to return the timeless artworks is worth emulating."

Open access

In February 2020, the Smithsonian made 2.8 million digital items available to the public under a Creative Commons Zero Public Domain Dedication, with a commitment to release further items in the future.

Research Centers

The Smithsonian has eight research centers, located in Washington, D.C.; Front Royal, Virginia; Edgewater, Maryland; Suitland, Maryland; Fort Pierce, Florida; Cambridge, Massachusetts; and Panama. Formerly two separate entities, the Smithsonian Libraries and Smithsonian Archives merged into one research center in 2020.

Research center	Area of focus	Location	Opened
Archives of American Art	History of the visual arts in the United States	Washington, D.C. New York City	1954 1970
Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory	Astrophysics	Cambridge, Massachusetts	1890
Museum Conservation Institute	Conservation	Suitland, Maryland	1965
Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute (affiliated with the National Zoo)	Veterinary medicine, reproductive physiology and conservation biology	Front Royal, Virginia	1974
Smithsonian Environmental Research Center	Coastal ecosystems	Edgewater, Maryland	1965
Smithsonian Libraries and Archives	Science, art, history and culture, and museology information and reference	Washington, D.C.	1968 2020
Smithsonian Marine Station at Fort Pierce (affiliated with the National Museum of Natural History)	Floridian marine ecosystems and lifeforms	Fort Pierce, Florida	1981 1999
Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute	Tropical ecology and its interactions with human welfare	Panama	1923 1946 1966

Cultural Centers

The Smithsonian Institution includes three cultural centers among its units:

Smithsonian Latino Center

In 1997, the Smithsonian Latino Center was created as a way to recognize Latinos across the Smithsonian Institution. The primary purpose of the center is to place Latino contributions to the arts, history, science, and national culture across the Smithsonian's museums and research centers.

The center is a division of the Smithsonian Institution. As of May 2016, the center is run by an executive director, Eduardo Díaz.

History

At the time of its creation, the Smithsonian Institution had other entities dedicated to other minority groups: National Museum of the American Indian, Freer-Sackler Gallery for Asian Arts and Culture, African Art Museum, and the National Museum of African-American Heritage and Culture.

The opening of the center was prompted, in part, by the publishing of a report called "Willful Neglect: The Smithsonian and U.S. Latinos".

According to documents obtained by The Washington Post, when former Latino Center executive director Pilar O'Leary first took the job, the center faced employees who had "serious performance issues". No performance plans existed for the staff and unfulfilled financial obligations to sponsors existed. The website's quality was poor, and the center did not have a public affairs manager, a programs director, adequate human resources support, or cohesive mission statement.

After difficult times in the first few years, the center improved. According to the Smithsonian, the center "support scholarly research, exhibitions, public and educational programs, web-based content and virtual platforms, and collections and archives. also manage leadership and professional development programs for Latino youth, emerging scholars and museum professionals." Today, the website features a high-tech virtual museum including self-guided virtual tours of past and present exhibits.

Young Ambassadors Program

The Smithsonian Latino Center's Young Ambassadors Program (YAP) is a program within the Latino Center that reaches out to Latino high school students with the goal of encouraging them to become leaders in arts, sciences, and the humanities.

Students selected for the program travel to Washington, D.C. for an "enrichment seminar" that lasts approximately five days. Afterwards, students return to their communities to serve in a paid, one-month internship.

Pilar O'Leary launched the program when she served as executive director of the Smithsonian Latino Center. According to the Latino Center, O'Leary told the press in 2007: "Our goal is to help our Young Ambassadors become the next generation of leaders in the arts and culture fields. This program encourages students to be proud of their roots and learn more about their cultural heritage to inspire them to educate the public in their own communities about how Latinos are enriching America's cultural fabric."

Publications

The institution publishes Smithsonian magazine monthly and Air & Space magazine bimonthly. Smithsonian was the result of Secretary of the Smithsonian S. Dillon Ripley asking the retired editor of Life magazine Edward K. Thompson to produce a magazine "about things in which the Smithsonian Institution is interested, might be interested or ought to be interested". Another Secretary of the Smithsonian, Walter Boyne, founded Air & Space.

The organization publishes under the imprints Smithsonian Institution Press, Smithsonian Books, and Smithsonian Institution Scholarly Press.

Awards

The Smithsonian makes a number of awards to acknowledge and support meritorious work.

The James Smithson Medal, the Smithsonian Institution's highest award, was established in 1965 and is given in recognition of exceptional contributions to art, science, history, education, and technology.
The James Smithson Bicentennial Medal, established in 1965, is given to persons who have made distinguished contributions to the advancement of areas of interest to the Smithsonian.
The Hodgkins Medal, established in 1893, is awarded for important contributions to the understanding of the physical environment.
The Henry Medal, established in 1878, is presented to individuals in recognition of their distinguished service, achievements or contributions to the prestige and growth of the Smithsonian Institution.
The Langley Gold Medal is awarded for meritorious investigations in connection with the science of aerodromics and its application to aviation.

Administration

The Smithsonian Institution was established as a trust instrumentality by act of Congress. More than two-thirds of the Smithsonian's workforce of some 6,300 persons are employees of the federal government. The Smithsonian Institution Office of Protection Services oversees security at the Smithsonian facilities and enforces laws and regulations for National Capital Parks together with the United States Park Police.

The president's 2011 budget proposed just under $800 million in support for the Smithsonian, slightly increased from previous years. Institution exhibits are free of charge, though in 2010 the Deficit Commission recommended admission fees.

As approved by Congress on August 10, 1846, the legislation that created the Smithsonian Institution called for the creation of a Board of Regents to govern and administer the organization. This seventeen-member board meets at least four times a year and includes as ex officio members the chief justice of the United States and the vice president of the United States. The nominal head of the institution is the chancellor, an office which has traditionally been held by the chief justice. In September 2007, the board created the position of chair of the Board of Regents, a position currently held by Risa Lavizzo-Mourey.

Other members of the Board of Regents are three members of the U.S. House of Representatives appointed by the speaker of the House; three members of the Senate, appointed by the president pro tempore of the Senate; and nine citizen members, nominated by the board and approved by the Congress in a joint resolution signed by the president of the United States. Regents who are senators or representatives serve for the duration of their elected terms, while citizen Regents serve a maximum of two six-year terms. Regents are compensated on a part-time basis.

The chief executive officer (CEO) of the Smithsonian is the secretary, who is appointed by the Board of Regents. The secretary also serves as secretary to the Board of Regents but is not a voting member of that body. The secretary of the Smithsonian has the privilege of the floor at the United States Senate. On September 18, 2013, Secretary G. Wayne Clough announced he would retire in October 2014. The Smithsonian Board of Regents said it asked regent John McCarter, Jr., to lead a search committee. On March 10, 2014, the Smithsonian Board selected David Skorton, a physician and president of Cornell University, as the thirteenth secretary of the Smithsonian. Skorton took the reins of the institution on July 1, 2015. Upon Skorton's announced resignation in 2019, the Board selected Lonnie Bunch III, the founding director of the Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture, as the fourteenth secretary.

Secretaries of the Smithsonian Institution

Joseph Henry, 1846–1878
Spencer Fullerton Baird, 1878–1887
Samuel Pierpont Langley, 1887–1906
Charles Doolittle Walcott, 1907–1927
Charles Greeley Abbot, 1928–1944
Alexander Wetmore, 1944–1952
Leonard Carmichael, 1953–1964
Sidney Dillon Ripley, 1964–1984
Robert McCormick Adams, Jr., 1984–1994
Ira Michael Heyman, 1994–1999
Lawrence M. Small, 2000–2007
G. Wayne Clough, 2008–2015
David J. Skorton, 2015–2019
Lonnie Bunch, 2019–present

Controversies

Enola Gay display

See also: Enola Gay exhibition controversy

In 1995, controversy arose over the exhibit at the National Air and Space Museum with the display of the Enola Gay, the Superfortress used by the United States to drop the first atomic bomb used in World War II. The American Legion and Air Force Association believed the exhibit put forward only one side of the debate over the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and that it emphasized the effect on victims without discussing its use within the overall context of the war. The Smithsonian changed the exhibit, displaying the aircraft only with associated technical data and without discussion of its historic role in the war.

Censorship of Seasons of Life and Land

In 2003, a National Museum of Natural History exhibit, Subhankar Banerjee's Seasons of Life and Land, featuring photographs of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, was censored and moved to the basement by Smithsonian officials. They were concerned that its subject matter was too politically controversial.

In November 2007, The Washington Post reported internal criticism has been raised regarding the institution's handling of the exhibit on the Arctic. According to documents and e-mails, the exhibit and its associated presentation were edited at high levels to add "scientific uncertainty" regarding the nature and impact of global warming on the Arctic. Acting Secretary of the Smithsonian Cristián Samper was interviewed by the Post, and claimed the exhibit was edited because it contained conclusions that went beyond what could be proven by contemporary climatology. The Smithsonian is now a participant in the U.S. Global Change Research Program.

Copyright restrictions

The Smithsonian Institution provides access to its image collections for educational, scholarly, and nonprofit uses. Commercial uses are generally restricted unless permission is obtained. Smithsonian images fall into different copyright categories; some are protected by copyright, many are subject to license agreements or other contractual conditions, and some fall into the public domain, such as those prepared by Smithsonian employees as part of their official duties. The Smithsonian's terms of use for its digital content, including images, are set forth on the Smithsonian Web site.

In April 2006, the institution entered into an agreement of "first refusal" rights for its vast silent and public domain film archives with Showtime Networks, mainly for use on the Smithsonian Channel, a network created from this deal. Critics contend this agreement effectively gives Showtime control over the film archives, as it requires filmmakers to obtain permission from the network to use extensive amounts of film footage from the Smithsonian archives.

Notes

States without Smithsonian Affiliates: Idaho, North Dakota, Utah.
^ Year museum moved to current building
Year center became affiliated with the Smithsonian
Year the Smithsonian Institution Libraries came into existence
Year the Smithsonian Libraries and Smithsonian Archives merged
Year the research center moved to its current location
Year Barro Colorado Island was declared a biological reserve
Year Barro Colorado Island became affiliated with the Smithsonian Institution
Year the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute was founded

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External links

Official website
A brief history of the U.S. National Museum/National Museum of Natural History Archived January 21, 2016, at the Wayback Machine
Smithsonian Open Access – nearly 3 million Free images now available (video; 1:40)

Portals:

v t e Smithsonian Institution
Museums	African American History and Culture African Art Air and Space Udvar–Hazy American Art Renwick Gallery American History Jazz Masterworks Orchestra Numismatic Collection American Indian Heye Center Anacostia Arts and Industries Asian Art Freer Sackler Castle Cooper–Hewitt Design Gardens Archives of American Gardens Hirshhorn Latino Natural History Barcode of Life Encyclopedia of Life Global Volcanism Portrait Gallery Postal Women's History
Zoo	National Zoological Park Uncle Beazley
Research	Archives of American Art Caribbean Coral Reef Ecosystems Program Conservation and restoration Astrophysics Chandra Conservation Biology Environmental Research Libraries and Archives Biodiversity Heritage Library Marine Station Museum Conservation Institute Migratory Bird Tropical Research
Cultural	Asian Pacific Latino Folklife and Cultural Heritage Folklife Festival Folkways Global Sound
Education	Affiliations Ripley Center
Media	American Art Air & Space/Smithsonian STEM in 30 Smithsonian magazine Smithsonian Channel Smithsonian Contributions and Studies Series
Awards	James Smithson Medal Charles Lang Freer Medal Hodgkins Medal Langley Gold Medal National Design Awards Smithsonian Philatelic Achievement Award Woodrow Wilson Awards
Other	James Smithson John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts Wilson Center (The Wilson Quarterly) Smithsonian Police U.S. National Tick Collection

v t e Secretaries of the Smithsonian Institution
Joseph Henry (1846) Spencer Fullerton Baird (1878) Samuel Langley (1887) Charles Doolittle Walcott (1907) Charles Greeley Abbot (1928) Alexander Wetmore (1944) Leonard Carmichael (1953) Sidney Dillon Ripley (1964) Robert McCormick Adams Jr. (1984) Ira Michael Heyman (1994) Lawrence M. Small (2000) Cristián Samper # (2007) G. Wayne Clough (2008) David J. Skorton (2015) Lonnie Bunch (2019) # denotes an acting secretary

Secretaries of the Smithsonian Institution

# denotes an acting secretary

v t e Landmarks of Washington, D.C.
Memorials	Adams African American Civil War American Veterans Disabled for Life John Barry Belmont–Paul Women's Equality National Monument Mary McLeod Bethune Boy Scout James Buchanan John Carroll D.C. War Albert Einstein Emancipation Dwight D. Eisenhower John Ericsson David Farragut First Division Thomas Gallaudet James A. Garfield Kahlil Gibran Samuel Gompers Ulysses S. Grant Holocaust Museum Holodomor Genocide Andrew Jackson Japanese American Patriotism During World War II Jefferson Memorial Lyndon Baines Johnson Grove John Paul Jones Marquis de Lafayette Law Enforcement Officers Lincoln Memorial statue Martin Luther King, Jr. Korean War Veterans George Mason George B. McClellan George Meade Peter Muhlenberg National Statuary Hall Collection Navy – Merchant Marine Nuns of the Battlefield Peace Monument John J. Pershing Second Division Signers of the Declaration of Independence The Extra Mile Three Soldiers Jean de Rochambeau Franklin Delano Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Island Taras Shevchenko Statues of the Liberators Oscar Straus Robert A. Taft Titanic United States Navy Victims of Communism Vietnam Veterans Vietnam Women's Washington Monument Daniel Webster World War I World War II Rainbow Pool
Other	Basilica of the Immaculate Conception Blair House Capitol Reflecting Pool Congressional Cemetery DAR Constitution Hall Exorcist steps First Air Mail Marker Ford's Theatre Petersen House Frederick Douglass National Historic Site Healy Hall Hillwood Estate and Museum Islamic Center Jefferson Pier John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts Library of Congress Jefferson Adams Madison National Arboretum National Capitol Columns National Building Museum National Gallery of Art Lincoln's Cottage at Soldiers' Home Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool National Archives National Cathedral National Mall Octagon House Old Post Office Old Stone House Smithsonian Institution St. John's Episcopal Church The Arts of War and The Arts of Peace Tidal Basin Treasury Building Freedman's Bank Building Tudor Place Union Station United States Capitol Capitol Hill Dome Rotunda United States Supreme Court Building Watergate complex White House Willard Hotel
Parks and plazas	Constitution Gardens Dupont Circle East Potomac Park Farragut Square Freedom Plaza Lafayette Square L'Enfant Plaza Meridian Hill Park National Arboretum Pershing Park President's Park Rock Creek Park The Ellipse Union Square United States Botanic Garden West Potomac Park
Boundaries	Anacostia River Arlington Memorial Bridge Boundary markers of the original District of Columbia Chesapeake and Ohio Canal Constitution Avenue Francis Scott Key Bridge Pennsylvania Avenue Potomac River Zero Milestone
Nearby landmarks	Arlington National Cemetery Tomb of the Unknown Soldier John F. Kennedy gravesite Arlington House Marine Corps War Memorial Mount Vernon Netherlands Carillon Pentagon Pentagon Memorial United States Air Force Memorial Women in Military Service for America Memorial
Planned	Adams Memorial National Desert Storm and Desert Shield Memorial National Liberty Memorial Peace Corps Commemorative
Canceled	George Washington Memorial Building Gold Star Mothers National Monument Mammy memorial National Slave Memorial
Related	National Capital Memorial Advisory Commission National Mall and Memorial Parks List of National Historic Landmarks in Washington, D.C. National Register of Historic Places in Washington, D.C.
Public art in Washington, D.C. (American Revolution Statuary, Civil War Monuments, Commemorating African-Americans, Outdoor sculpture)

v t e John Quincy Adams
U.S. Representative for MA–8 (1843–1848) U.S. Representative for MA–12 (1833–1843) U.S. Representative for MA–11 (1831–1833) 6th President of the United States (1825–1829) 8th United States Secretary of State (1817–1825) U.S. Minister to the United Kingdom (1814–1817) U.S. Minister to Russia (1809–1814) U.S. Senator from Massachusetts (1803–1808) U.S. Minister to Prussia (1797–1801) U.S. Minister to the Netherlands (1794–1797)
Presidency	Inauguration American System Internal improvements Tariff of 1828 First Treaty of Prairie du Chien Treaty of Fond du Lac Treaty of Limits United States Naval Observatory State of the Union Address, 1825 1827 1828 Federal judiciary appointments
Other events	Monroe Doctrine, author Treaty of Ghent Adams–Onís Treaty Treaty of 1818 Tariff of 1832 Smithsonian Institution United States v. The Amistad Mendi Bible President, American Academy of Arts and Sciences President, Columbian Institute for the Promotion of Arts and Sciences
Writings	Lifelong diary Massachusetts Historical Society holdings Adams Papers Editorial Project
Life and homes	Early life Abigail Adams Cairn John Quincy Adams and abolitionism Adams National Historical Park Birthplace and family home Peacefield Stone Library United First Parish Church and gravesite
Electoral history	Senate 1803 1808 Presidential runs 1824 Corrupt Bargain 1828
Legacy	Bibliography Adams Memorial Adams House at Harvard University U.S. Postage stamps Monroe Doctrine Centennial half dollar Mount Quincy Adams USS President Adams (1941) USS John Adams (1963) Oyster-Adams Bilingual School
Popular culture	Profiles in Courage (1957 book) 1965 television series) The Adams Chronicles (1976 miniseries) Mutiny on the Amistad (1987 book) Amistad (1997 film) John Adams (2001 book 2008 miniseries)
Adams political family Quincy family	Louisa Adams (wife) George Washington Adams (son) Charles Francis Adams Sr. (son) John Adams II (son) Henry Adams (grandson) Brooks Adams (grandson) John Quincy Adams II (grandson) John Adams father presidency Abigail Adams mother First Lady Quincy political family Abigail Adams Smith (sister) Charles Adams (brother) Thomas Boylston Adams (brother) John Adams Sr. (grandfather) Susanna Boylston (grandmother) John Quincy (great-grandfather)
Related	National Republican Party Republicanism Quincy Patriot John Quincy Adams (Bingham)
← James Monroe Andrew Jackson → Category

Federal research and development agencies of the United States (list)

Independent
agencies

National Science Foundation (NSF)
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
Environmental Protection Agency Office of Research and Development
Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity (IARPA)
Smithsonian Institution research centers and programs

Agriculture

Agricultural Research Service (ARS)
National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA)
Economic Research Service (ERS)
United States Forest Service Research and Development (R&D)

Commerce

Defense

Army	Army Combat Capabilities Development Command (CCDCOM) Army Research Laboratory (ARL) Combat Capabilities Development Command Soldier Center (CCDCSC) CCDC Armaments Center (CCDCAC) Picatinny Arsenal Benét Laboratories Watervliet Arsenal Test and Evaluation Command (ATEC) United States Army Medical Research and Development Command (USAMRDC) Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC)
Marine Corps	Marine Corps Combat Development Command (MCCDC) Marine Corps Warfighting Laboratory (MCWL) Marine Corps Operational Test and Evaluation Activity (MCOTEA)
Navy	Office of Naval Research (ONR) Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) Naval Medical Research Center (NMRC) Naval Warfare Centers Air (NAWC) Surface (NSWC) Undersea (NUWC) Command, Control and Ocean Surveillance (NCCOSC) Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake (NAWS) Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) Operational Test and Evaluation Force (OPTEVFOR)
Air Force	Air Force Materiel Command (AFMC) Air Armament Center (AAC) Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) Air Force Life Cycle Management Center (AFLCMC) Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center (NWC) Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT) Air Force Operational Test and Evaluation Center (AFOTEC)
Space Force	Space Systems Command (SSC)
Other	Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USU)